Europe's Ariane 6 stages first commercial launch <br /><br />Europe's newest uncrewed heavy launcher blasted off on a delayed mission to carry a French military observation satellite towards orbit on March 6, 2025 in its first commercially operational launch. The Ariane 6 rocket lifted from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 1:24 p.m. local time (1624 GMT), live webcast images showed, following two postponements. In its first operational mission, the launcher is due to carry the CSO-3 optical and infrared satellite into orbit for the French Air Force's Space Command. Although carrying a military payload, the journey is considered a commercial one by European authorities because it is the first being handled for Ariane 6 by operator Arianespace, rather than the European Space Agency which oversaw development. Ariane 6 is built by ArianeGroup, co-owned by Airbus and Safran. <br /><br />ARIANESPACE/REUTERS <br /><br />Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe <br /> <br />Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net <br /> <br />Follow us: <br />Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook <br />Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram <br />Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter <br />DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion <br /> <br />Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital <br /> <br />Check out our Podcasts: <br />Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify <br />Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts <br />Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic <br />Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer <br />Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein <br /> <br />#TheManilaTimes <br />#tmtnews <br />#ariane6 <br />#spacemission
